UPDATED – Nightmare: B.S. of A.’s Matt Fisher details how Progressive Insurance will “defend your killer in court in order to not pay you your policy”

By Wilson
Updated 08/14/2012 | 2:53 PM EST

Your browser does not support iframes.

During today’s “Fourth Hour”, Pat and Stu took some time to discuss a tragic story from a member of the GBTV/TheBlaze family that has gone viral over the internet. Yesterday, “The B.S. of A.” actor/writer Matt Fisher wrote a post on his personal blog detailing the insurance nightmare that has consumed his family over the past two years as they have dealt with over the past two years as they have battled with Progressive Insurance.

In the post, Matt detailed how his sister Katilyn was killed in Baltimore when she was struck by another driver who ran a red light when she was passing through an intersection. The driver’s insurance company settled with his sister’s estate, but because he was underinsured the payment “didn’t amount to much”, but his sister’s policy with Progressive covered her in the event of an accident with an underinsured driver. Progressive was supposed to cover the difference between the two policies.

But then things turned ugly.

Matt explained:

At which point we learned the first surprising thing about Progressive: Carrying Progressive insurance and getting into an accident does not entitle you to the value of your insurance policy. It just pisses off Progressive’s lawyers. Here I address you, Prospective Progressive Insurance Customer: someday when you have your accident, I promise that there will be enough wiggle room for Progressive’s bottomless stack of in-house attorneys to make a court case out of it and to hammer at that court case until you or your surviving loved ones run out of money.

Progressive refused to settle with his sister’s estate, and his family decided to take the company to court in order to secure the payment. But then they found out that in Maryland it is illegal to sue an insurance company when they refuse to pay. As a result, Matt’s parents were forced to take the driver who killed their daughter to civil court in order to prove negligence.

Progressive then did the unthinkable – rather than pay out the payment for the person they insured, they ended up defending her killer in court.

“If you are insured by Progressive, and they owe you money, they will defend your killer in court in order to not pay you your policy,” Matt wrote.

Matt’s parents ended up proving the driver’s negligence in court, and now Progressive should finally end up paying for the policy Katie has been paying for up until her death. And while he’s not sure how long it will take, he did come away with learning one thing: “Don’t buy insurance from Progressive.”

Don’t buy insurance from Progressive. Not only will you be paying the salaries of people who put my family through the wringer (really a smaller wringer that Progressive attached to the main wringer of my sister’s death), but also when the chips are down, your money will have bought you nothing but a kick in the face.

In response to the post, which ended up on several blogs and news sites, the Progressive PR team opted to simply send out an automated series of tweets to anyone who questioned their actions:

Classy.

In full, the statement reads:

This is a tragic case, and our sympathies go out to Mr. Fisher and his family for the pain they’ve had to endure. We fully investigated this claim and relevant background, and feel we properly handled the claim within our contractual obligations. Again, this is a tragic situation, and we’re sorry for everything Mr. Fisher and his family have gone through.

Many have claimed this is a blatant fail in social media public relations, as the repetitive messaging does little to explain their position and comes across, at best, as cold.

Update:

Progressive has issued a statement claiming they “did not serve as the attorney for the defendant in this case. He was defended by his insurance company, Nationwide.”

While this technically may be true, a look at the court records does reveal that on May 19th, 2011 Progressive was granted the right to intervene as a party Defendant (Defendant = the man who killed Kaitlyn) and granted all rights to participate as if they were an original party in the case:

Order of Court

It is this 19th day of May, 2011, by the Circuit Court For Baltimore City, hereby ORDERED1. That Progressive Advance Insurance Company be and is hereby allowed to intervene as a party Defendant.2. That Progressive Insurance Company is GRANTED all rights to participate in this proceeding as if it were an original party to this case.

At the beginning of the trial on Monday, August 6th, an attorney identified himself as Jeffrey R. Moffat and stated that he worked for Progressive Advanced Insurance Company. He then sat next to the defendant. During the trial, both in and out of the courtroom, he conferred with the defendant. He gave an opening statement to the jury, in which he proposed the idea that the defendant should not be found negligent in the case. He cross-examined all of the plaintiff’s witnesses. On direct examination, he questioned all of the defense’s witnesses. He made objections on behalf of the defendant, and he was a party to the argument of all of the objections heard in the case. After all of the witnesses had been called, he stood before the jury and gave a closing argument, in which he argued that my sister was responsible for the accident that killed her, and that the jury should not decide that the defendant was negligent.

I am comfortable characterizing this as a legal defense.

I wrote about this case on my blog because I felt that, in the wake of my sister’s death, Progressive had sought out ways to meet their strict legal obligation while still disrespecting my sister’s memory and causing my family a world of hurt. Their statement disavowing their role in this case, a case in which their attorney stood before my sister’s jury and argued on behalf of her killer, is simply infuriating.

This is appears to be the case of an insurance company that only cares for the bottom line, and not for their customers; to have their own in-house lawers defend the very man who caused the death of the sister is reprehensible at best, and dowright evil, unethical, and immoral at worst.

While it is their business choice to do so; may the customers of Progressive decide as well with their feet and their wallets, and head elsewhere. That is the ultimate freedom of expression all of us have for now, to change patronage of one insurer to another.

http://youtu.be/0iRCvDwF26Q Revan

I think Progressive got their name right protecting criminals and punishing victims like most progs do daily take form the haves the poor girl that died and give to the have nots the guy that killed. Is there anyone out there that has a heart in that company? This is the wicked world we live in nothing is safe anymore no good men in charge of the world. Where is the peace makers where are righteous and the wise? How long do we have to wait?

Anonymous

Progressive is owned by a self-professed D.A. progressive, liberal. Nuff said. Funny how they preach “help the working class’ but, wind up practicing ‘screw the working class’. Kind of like Moochelle telling you to eat bean sprouts whilst her, and the king, eat Baconators.

Anonymous

He is a Communist period!

http://twitter.com/AndywseSoo AndywseSoo

….
goo.gl/9fCWD

http://www.facebook.com/james.w.kelly.3 James W. Kelly

SPAM

Anonymous

I don’t understand why he is a communist menstrual cycle.

http://profile.yahoo.com/OXEUPLQP5N3NWO72YU6KUTFHFA Vern

Because he is a bloody mess.

Jan

LOL!

Anonymous

Progressive was crossed off my list of viable insurance companies years ago when info on the owner/top management was divulged. State Farm is another company I will not deal with due to their support of radical groups such as LaRaza and their past history of failure to pay for hurricane damage.

Its like the Chick-Fil-A owner. I agree with him, and I eat at Chick-Fil-A. If someone disagrees, they don’t have to eat there, I suppose.

But equally, Progressive employs tens of thousands of people in this country in many different capacities, and provides a quality product to its insureds, often very competitively priced, and allows thousands of independent, hard working agents to sell Progressive products and thereby earn a living.

One thing a Progressive agent is sure of is that Progressive produces a quality product, and is an innovater in the insurance industry. I understand that the political inclinations of the head honcho are said to be left of what we consider right and center in America, but the fictitious entity “Progressive” is an American company that will outlive the current head honcho and his alleged political inclinations, and it will surely continue to see many head honchos come to and go from the helm of all political stripes and persuasions.

I don’t think we should vilify Progressive any more than we should vilify Chick-Fil-A or KFC.

Nonnie_Ladybug

It’s very nice that Progressive provides jobs for people. We purchased Progressive Insurance because it had the best rates. Fortunately, we never had to make a claim. Last year we bought Gecko Insurance. LOL

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=121203492 Bob Unzicker

and “gecko” is owned by Warren Buffet–and GEICO stands for Government Employees Insurance CO….look it up.

http://www.facebook.com/kenneth.lee.58511 Kenneth Lee

You are a jacka–. His sister bought a policy with an underinsured policy rider. To then become part of the defense to attempt the prevention of payment of the rider is amoral. This is not free speech. It is the default of a business contract in which progressive should be fined millions and whoever is in charge of denying payment should be going to jail for fraud.

Anonymous

“provides a quality product to its insureds, often very competitively priced,” say what?!
Diaz, you have a most skewed notion of the definition of QUALITY or COMPETATIVE PRICING!
When the insured’s insurance company sends a shyster to beat the dead insured’s estate out of what they owe, they are slime.
When the ill-gotten gain of the slime goes to Marxists extremists to aid in they capturing my nation, that is war!!
We are awash in enemies of these United States. They have invaded and overthrown Americans in the EPA, DOJ, DOE’du, DOEnergy and so prominantly, in the Administration. IT IS WAR!
WAKE UP AMERICA! They have also invaded and stolen your fore-fathers Democratic Party! I will work hard to out their supporters like the Progressive Ins. Co. slime, to reinstate their ill-gotten gain to their victims, rendering them penniless!
I’m truly saddened by how many of my fellow Americans prefer to stand with their hands out, remaining greedily oblivious to the fact that the only money that will come to them, will be generated by selling our childrens birthright to our enemies. We are well past the point of generating anything near to our fiscal obligations, the future plundered to buy votes for the Marxists, their lying mantra, “Fair share”. No fairness nor sharing about it. It’s a lie to steal votes and money, a pitance doled to the out-thrust hands, just for show. Compassion is NOT within their mental capability. THEY know that their 3/4 century lie has wildly expanded the “needy class”. They’ll always be murderously angry that their push in ’68 failed. We need a repeat!
There has never been a grander prize, the Nation our forefathers bled and died for and handed to us for free.
If we lose it, we deserve the greatest loss to humaniity ever!
Those who fail to vote, or vote for anyone but ROMNEY/RYAN, are either a part of the Marxist army, wildly misinformed, woefully uninformed, or just plain stupid! Unlike many tickets from both sides in our history, there is no other choice for true Americans this time!
New Hampshire, heed your time honored moto and the rest will fall in line… LIVE FREE OR DIE.

Anonymous

So how long have you worked for Progressive? What a shill. Progressive should pay on the underinsured portion of the policy. I’m taking my business elsewhere but you can keep on sucking up to the scum at the bottom of the insurance pool and keep taking Progressive’s blood money.

http://twitter.com/AndywseSoo AndywseSoo

like Stanley explained I’m stunned that some one can get paid $5226 in one month on the network. have you look this(Click on menu Home)

Anonymous

In fact, the guy who owns Progressive—can’t think of his name at the moment, said, “The Democrat Party belongs to me now. I paid for them.”

Anonymous

Try “George Soros”!

http://twitter.com/moogoo3544 borninamerica

I feel the same way about Nationwide! My husband was insured by them for 40 years and the agent told my husband that even though he was a long term insured he was considered no different than a new insured (started insurance with agent’s grandfather). We decided to compare and switched to another car insurance and saved $1500/year with same coverage.

http://profile.yahoo.com/OXEUPLQP5N3NWO72YU6KUTFHFA Vern

I have Nationwide, and they have been excellent the 20 something yrs I have had them. I cover two new cars and don’t spend $1500 a yr.

Jan

Same here Vern, except that we have had Nationwide for over 30 years, both car & house. I would never buy State Farm because I was hit by a woman with State Farm and they never would pay all of the damage to our car and it was like pulling teeth from a dinosaur to get them to pay out what they did.

Anonymous

Who did you switch to my I ask. I have Farmers now but am looking for something cheaper. I find if it is cheaper the coverage is not as high.??

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1357194789 Kathie Rosky

I’m an ex-agent, commercial not personal. Safeco refused to insure my homeowners due to a small fire (one wall) caused by the prior owners using the wrong heater. Farmers was the only one that would even talk to me when I bought my next house. I have been with them for about 9 years now, and unfortunately had a number of claims, both auto and homeowners. I thought sure that after the first 2 claims, they would non renew me but they didn’t . Then my car got stolen filled with Christmas presents and Farmers was right there paying my costs. They even paid more for my rental car because after my accident, I wouldn’t ride in anything but an SUV due to fear. They have treated me so well, so timely, courteous and they still haven’t increased my premiums or non-renewed me. I honestly didn’t think there were any ethical companies left. I highly recommend Farmers. At least my agent has done a fantastic job for me.

Anonymous

Yes, and they gripe when Ann Romney wears a shirt that costs $900…and Moochelle buys a jacket that cost $6,800….no one says a word….so I am supposed to be more worried about how Mitt Romney spends HIS money, that I am about how Obama spends MY money.

http://profile.yahoo.com/DGPU7T7NHOP7VHRXKRL2OIJ5HM peppy

The media said something about Moochelle. They admired her lovely $6,800.00 jacket. “She Wowed Buckingham Palace” But yes, not a word of criticism.

Anonymous

You could put Mochelle in a solid gold dress and it would not help her. There are just somepeople who have no class and this woman is one of them. Subject: [glennbeck] Re: Nightmare: B.S. of A.’ s Matt Fisher details how Progressive Insurance will “ defend your killer in court in order to not pay you your policy”

Anonymous

Why are you so focused on Michelle Obama’s outfit? The article has NOTHING to do w/her. However, since we’re off subject I want to share my thought that I’m glad we have an electoral collage so stupid people like you CAN’T vote.

Anonymous

As a true progressive liberal, you simply cannot see the difference, can you? Pleeeeze get off thekookaide Obama has you drinking, as you want to slam people who share a difference of opinion. The reason for my blog is simple…..Romney’s wife gets slammed by the lamestream media for wearing a $900 shirt thatshe paid for with her own money, and nothing is said about Michelle purchasing a jacket for $6,800probably on the tax payers’ dime. Wake up before you end up in an America where you lose everything. Subject: [glennbeck] Re: UPDATED – Nightmare: B.S. of A.’ s Matt Fisher details how Progressive Insurance will “ defend your killer in court in order to not pay you your policy”

Collage? Really? And those commenting are stupid. OK, you must be brilliant. Do you vote, by any chance?

http://twitter.com/moogoo3544 borninamerica

Insurance in this country needs to be overhauled. Even though they say they are American companies, they are subsidiaries of foreign companies. For example, 21st Century, part of Farmers Group, which is owned by a Zurich Financial Services Co.
Nationwide is also part of the Farmers Group! I find it amazing that our Congressmen let it happen that if you have an accident and the company pays you, they can then raise your premium so that you pay them back over a period of years. That’s not insurance, that’s robbery!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=600398431 Gustavo Diaz

Sounds very free market.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_LR3I4X656U47FEK4XYRP6VHJ5U Marie

Why do we have to have insurance if we have to pay back the insurance companies? That makes no sense.

Anonymous

And let’s not forget his Pork Chop and Beer at the fair where yesterday he bought beers for everyone except one guy who he say was wearing a Romney button. How’s that work on Moochelle’s diet?

http://profile.yahoo.com/RMBE6TFM5U5IT4Y2ZW46KIJ6S4 Redhead

When they say the liability payout “didn’t amount to much” it had to be at least the state minimum of $30,000. Since we can’t be bothered to be told details, like what the sisters coverage was – how much of a difference are we talking? Did she carry the top limit of $250,000? Or $45,000?
Easy to hate insurance companies, but most folks only look at their 6 month premium, and don’t even try to understand the coverages they have.

Anonymous

Well, whatever her policy was, Progressive didn’t want to pay out on it. If it was $45K they would have saved the time and bad publicity and just paid. If it was $250K then maybe they figured the bad PR was worth it but in that case, they should have still paid what the insured was covered for. No?

http://profile.yahoo.com/H6SHX6GB2BAQXQ4ILHAU7PGV7U John

I have been in the ins business for over 33 yrs and have seen my share of crap during that time. The situation was probably like this. the party at fault probably had minimum liability limits. The Lady that got killed may have had high limits with high uninsured and underinsured limits (varies by state) Her estate filed a uim claim with Progressive and Progressive would not pay the claim, took it to court and lost. when a ins company takes a case to court, the policy limits on the policy do not apply(at least in my state). The judgement will be what the court decides to award. I hope they wipe Progressive ass and award a huge judgement. Progressive’s attidude needs adjusting!

ginger

Flo should keep a low profile….wonder if they will include that in their commercials?

Anonymous

Flo should be replaced by the Flo-bot. I would burn in hell before I would purchase insurance from Peter Lewis’firm. He is a confirmed liberal progressive in cahoots with George Soros and the rest of the “one world” enemies of America. Progressive Insurance is a communist front for money laundering to support Al Queda.

Name your own price? You get the policy worth the money you pay. Don’t be a cheapskate.

Anonymous

I adjusted claims for State Farm Insurance and they taught us from the beginning to pay exactly what was owed the insured, nothing more, and nothing less. I never had them to try and get me to beat anybody out of anything. I have been with State Farm since 1979, and personally, they have always taken care of my claims. I have no intention of changing.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_Z4X3ZBQWACDRFRFYNJMVBQRDMQ TedEx

I too, worked as an adjustor for a major insuranmce company. Same here,, pay what are entitled to, no more, no less.There was no incentive for an adjustor to do otherwise.

Betty

We have been with State Farm for 40 years and have always been pleased with their service. We have a very good agent who cares.

Anonymous

I’m so sorry to hear about all of this. What a shame. Did you know the person who owns Progressive is an extreme leftist and a heavy Obama contributor. Guess he didn’t want to share his wealth with Katilyn’s family… What a terrible tragedy

Anonymous

/Start sarcasm
Actually, Progressive sent all their extra money to the President’s reelection campaign. I am sure you will understand that Progressive has everyone’s welfare in mind.
/stop sarcasm

Jeff Klink

All insurance companies are scam artists. My wife was broadsided by a teenager that ran a stop sign at a “T” intersection. It destroyed my wife’s car and hurt both my wife and our 2 year old son. the other driver is insured by a company called “American Access Insurance” whom my agent said was the kind of insurance people get when they can’t get anything else. I have read literally 100’s of reviews about how horrible this company treats people that are victims of their clients. at first i thought the reviews may have been exaggerated, but i found them all to be true so far. Worse yet is my own insurance company state farm, whom i have been with for over ten years, has done nothing to help me deal with the other insurance company. the car has been in storage at a repair facility waiting for the OK to start fixing the car or replace it for three weeks now. My state farm claim manager actually told me “We have no financial interest in this case to make us get involved.” Apparently my yearly payment of almost 3K a year for all of our policies is no incentive at all. I have been forced to hire a lawyer this week because we are at our wits end just trying to get our vehicle taken care of, let alone medical and we still will have to deal with all of the out of pocket cost later. Sadly these days it seems like the party with that can pay the lawyer the longest will always win. After all, it’s the lawyers and lobbyist making and are pushing the laws through and they are certainly not going to work for the betterment of the public interest. Insurance companies don’t let you get away with having a late payment but good luck on getting them to cover you when you need them.

My heart goes out to the family that lost a member. I was lucky that my wife and son were only hurt and not killed. There should be an advocacy group of some kind looking out for the public but I’m sure they would just get bribed and paid off like most of our government officials already.

Anonymous

Do you have collision coverage on your policy? If not, then none of your premiums go toward covering your car, but to liability coverage to protect you from being sued if you cause an accident. If you do have collision coverage then SF should get involved and make the repairs less any deductible that you have. They can then go after the at-fault driver’s insurance for reimbursement.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_EN2CCASCTDLXFYW7MUH43F64YY JimR

With State Farm, you should be able to file the claim through State Farm instead of the other driver’s company. You then have to pay the deductible, but State Farm would handle it from there on out.

Anonymous

Phooey on State Farm!! My 78 yr. old Mom was rear- ended by a guy driving too fast- that caused her to barely clip the car in front of her, one that was waiting to turn, and slammed her car into a 3rd one, causing her car to be totaled. There was a witness to the accident and the police report was written and filed, indicating clearly that she was not at fault. Unfortunately, the guy whose car was initially “clipped” is a prominent County judge. He went to MY mother’s adjustor THREE times, to tell him the “facts” of the case- facts contrary to the police report- so that he could file a claim on HER insurance instead of on the policy belonging to the party at fault. The adjustor told my mom that he believed that this judge had the “real” facts of the case, despite what was written on the police report OR the eyewitness…and decided to pay out his claim. My mom called the state board of insurance licensing and was told that the adjustor could basically “rule” in any way he saw fit. Now my mom has this claim against her on her record, her premiums are liable to increase…and no telling WHO else will decide to file against her. All of this despite a police report and a driving record without any tickets nor any record of accidents for which she was at fault…and a history of paying premiums to State Farm for about 20 years. How’s that for “looking after your customer”? Only way to really fight this is legal..but she’s on a fixed income and can’t afford the legal help. In addition, it was found that SHE sustained injuries not apparent immediately apparent at the scene of the accident. Never, ever will I do business with State Farm!!

S Rubicon

Apparently, Progressive made a corporate & legal dept. decision to dispute the legitimacy of a
claim. I know in PA we have what insurance companies call, comparative negligence. That means, an adjustor assigns a percentage of blame for an accident based on a system the company has devised, to assert each involved party has a percentage of liability for an accident.
That Progressive decided to intervene in the legal filing must have been because they feared a civil judgement for the young lady, “might” lead to an additional court case against them. By defending the defendant or guy who hit the girl, Progressive may have been attempting to establish a level of blame on her they could use to defend themselves, in the event the girl’s family or estate decided to sue them. Its all about money, when it seems to most of us a direct payout would have resolved the issue from the get go.

Anonymous

What else did you expect from a company that Soros owns?

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100004085019813 Lyn Arnold

Allstate insurance does the same. Refuse to pay the victim! There in lies a lot of our problems with the healthcare in our country and rising costs of insurance

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_47FB5FUTI2QQCCZZP3IIWOXRKQ HARRY M

Progressive Insurance is owned by a liberal Democrat billionaire. He was one of the big guns contributing to presidential campaigns for Klintoon, the Goreon, sKerry’s and Zerobama. I would never ever consider Progressive for insurance even if they were less expensive than my insurance company–which they are not.

http://twitter.com/il_Padrino_Ute Garth Haycock

I’m very happy that I dropped Progressive a number of years ago. While I’ve never been in an accident, I felt that I was paying to much compared to what the return would have been, which is why I dropped that company.

http://twitter.com/darmyman D Armstrong

I have Progressive now. I will be looking for new insurance tomorrow. Was about time to shop around but this motivated me. My condolences to the family.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1408630055 Sue Christensen

Does the liberal back bone of the Democrat Party intent on destroying America, the OWNER of Progressive? I mean, the black hearted George Soros? He didn’t get his billions by being nice.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1659692654 Lou Kovatch

Progressive Insurance is owned by the same man who “wants” to bring America to her knees, as was said on a 60 min interview… that man or (ass ) is the no.1 liberal financier of Team Obama,,, George Soros… if you have Progressive Ins., then your giving to the liberal cause…

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_Z4X3ZBQWACDRFRFYNJMVBQRDMQ TedEx

Buy discount insurance and you deal with discount mentality.

http://profile.yahoo.com/KGI47YNKSYY7GHA7SW7UM2IVDA Anonymous

And to think, Progressive was going to be my next insurer, when I leave State Farm.
I guess that I better look into Allstate!

http://twitter.com/DStopper29 Dave L

Well, it looks to me that although Progressive’s actions were as we expect all progressives to act, it appears the court allowed them to participate. Did Progressive ask to participate in the killer’s case? Just curious. The PR form tweets are pathetic BTW, and exemplify the sad nature of modern public relations. This from a PR pro.

WT Fook

I will be canceling my entire family’s insurance with Progressive effective immediately – after 6 yrs as a progressive customer this makes me ill…..hope it was all worth it Flo….

WT Fook

Flo – say it ain’t so

Anonymous

I was always suspicious of Progressive just because the name and it’s implemation is abrasive to me. Now I know I’ll cringe each time I see one of their ads on TV.

CharlyO

Here is part of the problem: My daughter was at going south through a 4-way in the turn lane with a green light, right in front of the police station. A driver was stopped at the red light heading east and as she was entering the intersection that driver went around another car, through the red light, broad-sided her car and totaled it. Of course, the cops were right on the scene. The other driver was illegal, no drivers license, no identification, no registration, no insurance, no English and had been drinking. They wrote him a ticket for something, made another person drive and told them to go as his car still ran! She asked him why, as the tow truck was hooking up her car, and he said there was nothing they could do about it because he was an illegal immigrant and it was a lost cause. Why is your insurance so expensive?

Anonymous

well i just cale my insurance company (progresive) andf rea them this artical and iformed them that i will no longer need thier survices, alone with a little of my feelins on this matter, not rude not yelling just let them know how totally disgusted i am about this.
this reminds me of when i had allstate insurance and my rates quadrupled after 9/11 with them telling me that they had alot of insured in that deal and everyone had to pitch in. dont use themanymore either.

Anonymous

Apparently Flo-Bot is making these Robotic decisions with the Robotic efficiency and heart !

http://www.facebook.com/martycline Marty Cline

Had them…..canceled them!

Anonymous

I have know about Progressives owners for quite a while and I wouldn’t care it they gave me insurance at half the price I pay now I wouldn’t change companies. One should be forewarned by the name alone.

http://www.facebook.com/john.pokornik John Pokornik

Why pay claims fairly when it is so much cheaper to buy politicians>

Anonymous

Progressive is Liberal, this explains it !

Anonymous

Will never use them anyway. Their owner is a progressive dolt and this does not surprise me in the least.

Maybe we should ask Progressive to do a ‘Flo’ commercial defending the actions of the company in defending the killer of the policyholder….that may get the smirk off of her face about how ‘customer friendly’ they are…..

http://www.facebook.com/thomas.dunlop.5 Thomas Dunlop

Progressive doesnt just that name tell you something. Progressive = liberal also int he liberal state of Maryland, oops make that progressive state of Maryland where they set out construction barrels and mark it as as a construction area though it isnt and take pictures and you pay the toll of $40. What a crooked place.

Anonymous

Small correction, folks…Progressive’s Chairman of the Board is not spooky dude. It is Peter B. Lewis, net worth as of March 2012 of $1.2 billion. Lewis stepped down as CEO in 2000 but is still COB. Lewis and Soros are, however, definitely cut from the same uber-rich progressive cloth…and definitely “1%ers”…and HUGE supporters of the current administration.

Anonymous

Progressive picked their name well, didn’t they?

Anonymous

Who is Peter Lewis? (Billionaire, Founder Progressive Insurance, Major ACLU Contributor) Billionaires Peter Lewis and George Soros have each pledged $10 million
to America Coming Together…A billionaire, Lewis is the chairman and
chief executive officer of Progressive Corporation, the fourth-largest
U.S. personal auto insurer, A leading U. S. business reference manual,
Hoover’s Handbook of American Business l999, actually described Lewis in
print as “a functioning pot-head.”… His house features an elaborate
series of paintings of Chinese communist Mao Tse-tung by Andy Warhol.
Lewis has contributed $5 million to the ACLU …

Anonymous

Sorry, Sue C, you are incorrect,. George Soros DOES NOT own Progressive Insurance, it is a publicly traded company with Peter Lewis as the CEO. Lewis is a well known Marxist progressive, and heavy Obama and democratic contributor!. See this:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_B._Lewis

http://www.facebook.com/prumaker Paul T Rumaker

Everyone on Facebook should repost this for a broader voice for the Fisher family and his late sister — Katilyn.

Anonymous

I heard that Soros was the owner of Progressive. Does anyone know if that is true? And as far as buying from Progressive, it will never happen. I won’t have anything to do with AARP either.

Try farmers when my moms parked car got hit by a truck his insurance (Allstate) tried to say it was her fault that the truck rear ended her parked car and didn’t want to pay up (it was the third time this guy has done this in the same place) Her farmers agent went ahead and got her car fixed and told her not to worry about Allstate they would go after them and said they had great lawyers.

http://profile.yahoo.com/3UX3HGIPKMT4LFMMEVN6S4AGXM Wade F

If you or anyone in your family was military, I suggest USAA insurance. We switched all our insurance and most of our banking to USAA. The most outstanding company in the financial services I have come across in my 45 years of needing this type thing. Never one problem they will not solve rapidly and with the customer first. Just great peole, a really well run company.

Anonymous

Some bad info on here. Soros doesn’t own progressive insurance. Peter Lewis did own it, and is a huge funder of lefty causes like ACLU, moveon.org, etc….many of those huge contributions (in the millions) were conditional, and involved a “match” by soros (obummers main funder). Lewis and soros are partners in crime for sure.

Although not really related to this story, I think the bigger point is that Lewis (just like soros, michael moore, george clooney, ted turner, etc., etc., etc.,) made all of his billions using the very system of capitalism he and his evil buddies have sworn to take down. Just one more of the staggering hypocricies of the left!

The above being said, it’s not surprising at all to me, that an insurance company owned by a socialist could take money from a customer and refuse to make good on the policy. That’s what commies and lefties do all day long!

Anonymous

They very name tipped me off long ago , these are the same people out to destroy America , so why would they want to help even the Americans they are legally accountable for . The owner of this disguating company is George Soros buddy , that should be enough to scare anyone off .

Anonymous

I got my answer after reading on down the comments. I was right then.

Anonymous

If the name itself, “Progressive” wasn’t enough to persuade you to NOT choose progressive one of the owners of this company is George Soros, ’nuff said? Sort of funny but more just plain ol hypocritical of such a capitalist hating communist huh? Liberalism is a mental illness and that is not hyperbole. Soul cancer would be my diagnosis.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Erik-Osbun/100001215333702 Erik Osbun

Progressive method and philosophy is evil.

Anonymous

If it’s going to be A law to carry insurance, then those who do not have coverage, and get into an accident, the penalty should be A minimum of 5 years in prison…period. Some might say, well we can’t afford anymore prisoners, in that case, 12,000 hours of community service to be completed in 5 years should suffice.

Im sick of criminals playing the victim card…its disgusting!

Anonymous

If anyone out there has served with the military, or has a parent or grandparent who has served, you can join USAA insurance. I have been with them for over 20 years and have been treated like a VIP. Not only do they sell insurance, auto and home and more, they offer financial advisement, IRA’s and other investing, home and auto loans, checking and savings and probably more. They never took any Obamanation money! They were started by military for military. And in years when they have a large sum of money left over from fewer claims, they actually give back some of that money. I can not say enough good things about them

http://profile.yahoo.com/YXCRDPNPQJVWNDQS7YJRJRN7Q4 Lamar

Say it ain’t so, Flo.

http://profile.yahoo.com/YXCRDPNPQJVWNDQS7YJRJRN7Q4 Lamar

Say it ain’t so, Flo.

Anonymous

I learned a little over a year ago that the CEO of Progressive is a huge leftist and a fan of George Soros…. donates tons of money to leftist causes. He became a millionaire because of Capitalism and Free enterprise, but now want’s it shut down for everyone else. I called and cancelled my policy, and they did everything they could to talk me out of it, and finally I told them the real reason, AND THEY JUST QUICKLY SAID OK! Almost like they have heard it a few times! I will never pay that company 1 cent…. I don’t do business with America haters!

Anonymous

Progressive Insurance is a TAKE and Give NOTHING Unless Forced. I was Hit and Injured by a person ‘covered’ by Progressive… I had to get an Attorney AND it took 2 YEARS to get to some kind of settlement and I’m STILL Not recovered fully. I Will say This…They Offered me a Settlement check within a few days of the accident for ~$1000.00 – to cover my Medical And Vehicle damage… They are Vermin.

Don Lynch

I only know of one person that had Progressive and they were fine until someone went through a red light and T-boned him and his child. The pick up he was in was rolled and demolished. Luckily no one was injured seriously. When he phoned Progressive it went bad from the git go. As luck would have it the person that railed him was on a cell phone and had great insurance. She admitted guilt right out of the gate and her carrier was more than happy to settle things as quick as possible. I do know Progressive did not help even a little bit. And that was for one of their own insured with the other person clearly at fault. And with the Soros connection I would pay another company “As much as $500.00″ to just not use them. But that’s me. You all have a good day. God Bless. Don

http://twitter.com/cornette1991 Steven Cornette

I will no longer carry Progressive insurance personally or with my business any long due to your handling of the Fisher case. Please do not respond as THIS is Goodbye!

Anonymous

For all you State Farm satisfied customers, we just switched to a better state, Allstate. We had uninsured motorist coverage and my wife was not only hit by an uninsured motorist, she was badly injured. They only offered to pay a small fraction of the claim and got a hack doctor to claim that she shouldn’t have been injured by the accident and therefore they are not paying. We have to use a lawyer to try to get what we are entitled to because the bills for her non injuries still cost us a lot of money. Our lawyer said that this is quite common practice for State Farm. The sad fact is that if we win the case, we need to pay 45% to the lawyer. More that we would have gotten before, but not nearly enough to cover current and future expenses. I’m just glad my wife was not killed like the person in the story but I have to deal with her injuries and pain every day.

Anonymous

Who is Peter Lewis? (Billionaire, Founder Progressive Insurance, Major
ACLU Contributor) Billionaires Peter Lewis and George Soros have each
pledged $10 million
to America Coming Together…A billionaire, Lewis is the chairman and
chief executive officer of Progressive Corporation, the fourth-largest
U.S. personal auto insurer, A leading U. S. business reference manual,
Hoover’s Handbook of American Business l999, actually described Lewis in
print as “a functioning pot-head.”… His house features an elaborate
series of paintings of Chinese communist Mao Tse-tung by Andy Warhol.
Lewis has contributed $5 million to the ACLU …

http://www.facebook.com/maryellen.allen.7 MaryEllen Allen

Would like to know who “her” carrier is – the one who paid as agreed. Want to check them out before I renew with my (non-progressive) carrier. I sure won’t be doing business with “Progressive” – even their TV commercials are assinine!

Anonymous

Flo, say it ain’t so! To think you were my favorite bobble head. Now I know why their guy was picking up paying for people’s gas, they aren’t paying claims.

Condolences to the family for their loss. Rather than healing, they get to re-live their tragedy having to fight for what’s due them under a contract. I’m sure there’s some legalese in the policy that Progressive points to in their defense, but the underlying principle of an insurance contract is that the company will perform its obligations when the matter clearly falls under the intent of the coverage provided.

I’m guessing that this will be the most costly claim they’ve chosen to litigate when one factors in the loss of new customers.

greywolfrs

Actually, it will not. As the article stated, insurance companies can not be sued in Maryland for failure to pay, sad but true.

Progressive refused to settle with his sister’s estate, and his family decided to take the company to court in order to secure the payment. But then they found out that in Maryland it is illegal to sue an insurance company when they refuse to pay. As a result, Matt’s parents were forced to take the driver who killed their daughter to civil court in order to prove negligence.

Anonymous

I was under the impression that Progressive denied the claim because the insured was either partly or fully negligent (assuming their policy excluded coverage under such circumstances). The family’s effort I presumed was to prove negligence of the defendant which would lead to Progressive having to pay under that coverage.

If it was as you stated, why would Progressive even bother to defend the defendant? Not saying you’re wrong, just throwing the question out there.

greywolfrs

I am not a lawyer in Maryland, but the way I take it, even if they find the other driver negligent, Progressive can still refuse to pay. The family still has no recourse, if that is the case. I could be wrong…

greywolfrs

Their name says it all. If anyone thought the name had nothing to do with the “progressive” movement, think again. I have known that for YEARS.

Anonymous

I’ve heard other stories about Progressive and their practices. Needless to say, despite their “cute” commercials, I’m staying far away from them and hope others do too.

greywolfrs

All we can do is spread the word and hope people listen.

http://profile.yahoo.com/KYU35ZAD6N3SBDRFOYYEFLOXMI Big-Al

Just the name, Progressive Insurance, was enough for me to not want to have anything to do with them. One pregressive is just like any other progressive.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_NLIFQPNP332XZRT3JNHISOQLNI Linda Vaughn

Well, my experience with Progressive isn’t even close to being tragic as in this case, however, after a perfect driving record for over 35 years, I had a minor “fender-bender” in a grocery parking lot… no one injured, no damage to my vehicle it was so minor, however Progressive doubled the premium on all 5 of my vehicles insured by them. That was enough for me!

Anonymous

I have used AAA Insurance for over 30 years. Although I have only had a few accidents, I have never had one bit of trouble with AAA. I highly recommend them. I have also heard great things about Allstate.

Eventhough this is the first time I have heard that Progressive Insurance was owned by an actual progressive, there has always been something not right about that company. I couldn’t put my finger on in until now. Now I know. Before I thought it was all that hairspray Flo uses.

Anonymous

AAA is another dishonest insurance company. I paid premiums, including for uninsured motorists, forever! Agents were always very nice but when it comes to serious claims, the claims dept. is another story. I got a very rude awakening. With their policies, you must go to binding arbitration. You have already lost before the claim begins!

An uninsured motorist changed lanes in an intersection against a red light, broadsided—and totaled—my almost new auto and slammed me into the back of a pickup—also unsured motorist. I tho’t I was a goner for sure! Left me with back and neck problems to this day and made it difficult for me to be employed.

I will try to make this short. AAA delayed the hearing for almost two years and, in the meantime, was always rude. At the hearing, which was conducted with everyone sitting around a table, the AAA rep. was seated with the jerk who told very obvious lies. I had information organized and drawings to show just what happened, however, I was not allowed to speak! The retired judge, who seemed to be both deaf and senile, never looked up—the whole time the AAA guy sat with arms crossed over his chest and looked daggers toward the judge, which is probably why he never looked up. I’m sitting there with my chin on my chest, flabbergasted, as the AAA guy grabbed the judge by the arm and hurried him out to the elevator and they disappeared.

I received the brief judgment from the judge: “You were mislead and get nothing.” End of story!

I think one of the reasons for the long delay was until they had a puppet judge for the case.

I had to remain with AAA for 3 years before another company would accept me, during which time AAA upped my premiums! I learned that AAA lost a lot of their customers because of their dishonest behavior.

Anonymous

Haven’t had a problem with AAA in 12 years. My fault or other driver’s fault, doesn’t matter. They always take care of me very promptly and professionally.

http://www.facebook.com/wil.buchanan.9 Wil Buchanan

Matt, I am very sorry for your loss. I am grateful to be part of a free, capitalistic economy where we can vote with our feet! There are a lot of great companies out there.

http://profile.yahoo.com/OXEUPLQP5N3NWO72YU6KUTFHFA Vern

The owner of Progressive is a die hard Obama Liberal, and he donates to the Dems big time. I hope folks drop their insurance with Progressive. They will do most anything to keep from paying what they owe.

http://twitter.com/moogoo3544 borninamerica

Progressive is owned by a guy named Lewis who donated $3M to MPP in 2007. That’s a group that wants to make marijuana use legal in US. They have members all over the world and they have used their money to get someone out of a federal job that they didn’t like. Groups like this are twofold – lobbyists and educationalists! Scary thing is we never hear about them. They do what they do in the background!

mikeusaret

I have USAA Insurance, when anyone calls and tries to get me to change companies, I tell them I have USAA, they thank me for my time and hang up. If you have served in the militay or have a father or mother that have and can prove it you might just ant to check them out. By the way Progressive also supports LGBT activites…

http://www.facebook.com/Rocket.Jet Rocky J. Tellier

USAA also farms out their motorcycle insurance to Progressive. I know because I have insurance through USAA and when I wanted to insure my motorcycle, they sent me to Progressive.

Time to change the motorcycle insurance.

Anonymous

You have to understand the ownership of the company to be able to appreciate the story!

http://profile.yahoo.com/NTXZBYEYCFB2H5EYQUGFOWGR2I Grid51

I will be looking for a new insurance company

Anonymous

PROGRESSIVE REALLY SUCKS! THEY WILL TAKE TWO MONTHS TO GET YOUR A RENTAL CAR ! THEY WILL SPEND MORE TIME TO INVESTIGATING YOUR CAR !

http://www.facebook.com/tammy.iraheta Tammy Iraheta

ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING!! PRETTY SOON….. ALL THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR WILL BE THE NORM. WE LIVE IN PERILOUS TIMES…. IT IS SO DISCOURAGING….

Anonymous

It is the norm, try working in corporate America where every one is greedy and evil including all your co workers.

jennifer hendricks

This is a tragic tale of greed, and curruption. Insurance companies are all about not having to pay out, that’s the insurance way. My close friend and neighbor’s brother was hit and killed while riding his bike. It happened in an intersection. The driver ran a red light, because he was in a hurry, (also an illigal immigrant from Tonga) He had Progressive Insurance. They paid less than a $1,000. for a man’s life. They poured salt on the families wounds. Needless to say my friend’s family had to hire a lawyer to sue Progressive. It is unbelievable and an inconceivable cruelity that there is no accountablility in the insurance world. They’ll pay out big time for lawyers and lobbyist, but not to their own customers who pay for them to be in business. What an oxymoron. Pray you’ll never have to rely on your insurance for anything. You have to pay your premium, but they don’t have to pay you when you have a claim. If I pay for a tangable item from the store I get the item. If I pay for a non tangable item, such as insurance, I don’t have any guarantee of receiving services for my money. There is something fundemantally wrong about that. It is diabolical.

Anonymous

I used to sell insurance. I learned this fact as hard truth: INSURANCE STARTS WITH I and NOT YOU. So guess who they will be looking our for. You are right it is I # one. Not you..

Anonymous

In New York state Progressive will tell DMV that you are uninsured if you change to a different company Hve had it happen to myself, friends and have pulled people over (am a Police Officer
) who were uninsured in DMV records but had proof of their new insurance. Progressive’s last bit of revenge if you leave them…

I would never buy insurance from Progressive. the name alone is a dead give away. these people are bound for hell…

Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. 2Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. 3Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

Anonymous

My housemate is still trying (and has to sue) to get Progressive to cover his flatbed that was flooded in NY during hurricaine Irene last year. They refuse to pay even though he has pictures and water lines to prove it! They suck! Also thanks for info on State Farm..I didn’t know and I have them for home and auto. ill. Perhaps I look into changing that.

http://profile.yahoo.com/3GQRR2U3STQKGSVKMOW6ZKIH4E Jessica

Nope, I’ve been informing family and friends for years about how buying insurance from Progressive or State Farm just helps liberal causes. It’s easy to remember not to buy from Progressive–it’s right in their name!!! We don’t even look at Flo in the cute commercials the same way anymore.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1083780638 Thomas Byrne

Mr.Progressive want to make another billion by screwing his clients. I wonder how many of the OWS stooges he supports know that he is part of the 1/4% ?

Anonymous

This is nothing new. I found that insurance companies will “take it to court” rather than pay the amount being asked even if in the end they have to pay less/more. Their bank of lawyers need somehing to do. I found that lawyers will twist and lie (sounds like the US govt) anything that they can to make their case. Juries are so dumb at times they can make you cry. Two things….I will NEVER serve on a jury and I will NEVER trust a lawyer. Sorry to say that but after geting screwed by twisting and lies…it’s by…by..

Anonymous

Progressive: aptly named and all about greed and serving self. God Bless Matt and his family and I intend to tell everyone I know about this reprehensible company.

Anonymous

Then one really isn’t buying insurance at all – one is paying for an opportunity in court. Prepaying *their* lawyers in the event of a “tragic case”.

http://twitter.com/Equuslimits10 Equuslimits10

Oh, Flo, you really suck don’t you?

http://twitter.com/Equuslimits10 Equuslimits10

I’ll take my good ol’ lizard over Flobot idiot any day. What trash Progressive is, hey the name says it all doesn’t it?

Anonymous

GEICO was one of the sponsers who dropped advertising on Glenn Beck under pressure from Van Jones and his Color of Change group. I had GEICO then and wrote to ask them about dropping Glenn and they admitted that they did. So, I dropped them and went to Travlers, who are great!

Progressive claiming that it did not provide attorneys to protect the defendant is just plain shameful. The judge should not have allowed them standing in the case. They served as free legal counsel for an even more base reason – their pocketbooks. I was nothing more than strategic financial positioning. They saw that their best chance of avoiding payment was to intervene on behalf of the defendant who killed their client. Apologies are fine, but they should have some basis in truth. The laws in the state of Maryland allowed this fiasco. Frivolous lawsuits have destroyed the legal rights of the legitimate suits. I live in Washington. Here, the most draconian punishments exist for insurance companies that play these games. We have an insurance commissioner that has the right to shut down the insurance companies should they choose to deny coverage for clients who have faithfully paid their premiums. In states where no such laws exist, insurance companies routinely deny most claims. Even when the claim is clearly covered and evidence is abundant and overwhelming, it is very profitable for the company to deny claims up to five times and then, defend themselves in court because even with their legal costs, it was still cheaper and most clients would give up because they could not compete. I am conservative in the extreme, but this is neither honest, nor moral; two requirements to which I hold persons and companies to alike. Just because they can do it does not mean they should and eventually, their practices catch up with them in the form of reduced sales and damaged reputation. This was naked strategy devoid of integrity and they should be financially punished for engaging in these practices. Accountability often affects companies when they choose only the bottom line as their only moral obligation. If they receive enough bad press and decreased financial success, they will alter their practices, not because they care, but because it increases the bottom line.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Barry-Levy/1091577549 Barry Levy

another case of I got mine, and screw you, but thanks for all the premiums you paid.

http://www.facebook.com/patricia.hardin3 Patricia Hardin

thats business in the u.s. an its gonna get worse before it gets better, its all about the dollar, we as people dont matter anymore,but i believe all those jerks that have screwed the people over in this country , HAVE A FRONT ROW SEAT, WITH THEIR NAME ON IT, JUST WAITING FOR THEM IN HELL, for i am sure it was never intended to be this way

Anonymous

Had a similar experience with a rental car company. Let’s just call them Mabus, since that was a term that Nostradamus used for the antichrist. I spent ten years fighting for a settlement after their equipment almost broke my neck while I was in their car. Finally, I couldn’t take any more and took about enough to break even. Beware because they have now lobbied through new laws that say they are no longer responsible for anyone who is not the driver. They are scumbags but the congress members who passed new laws to relieve them of any responsibility are truely evil, especially since they are always lecturing about personal responsibility. I guess that stops at the boardroom door.

http://www.facebook.com/people/Emil-Viola/1427409203 Emil Viola

PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE IS UNDER THE WING OF ITS CEO, PETER LEWIS, A NOTORIOUS PROGRESSIVE AND ASSOCIATE OF GEORGE SOROS IN MANY OF HIS VENTURES SUCH AS TIDES, MEDIA MATTERS, ETC. WHERE DO YOU THINK THE NAME “PROGRESSIVE ” CAME FROM?

http://www.facebook.com/michael.hough.56 Michael Hough

I have been a progressive customer for 6 years, and all in all I’ve been happy with their service, but this story makes me sick. I’ll be switching insurance companies ASAP

Anonymous

Besides being a crap insurance company, the number one reason NOT to buy Progressive insurance is Peter Lewis. Peter Lewis is a gazillonaire and he pours money into the same organizations as George Soros.

Off topic: The commercials are good, but there is NO WAY I would ever buy their insurance. I try to see who owns what….like Nancy Pelosi’s husband is a major stockholder in Del Monte, Ben and Jerry’s supports anti military and other assorted socialist organizations. Monsanto is a major stockholder in SYSCO a company that supplies almost all of the premade food to the most of the restaurants in this country. It might be all that genetically altered food making us fat LOL.

Anonymous

You folks do know that the OWNER of Progressive IS…………………………………. A PROGRESSIVE LIBERAL!!! They pull thesame stuff in real life as they do in neverneverland otherwise known as DC

Anonymous

That’s enough info for me to look for other carriers. Insurance companies are there to minimize the risk, not increase it. See ya, Progressive. (literal and figuratively)

http://www.facebook.com/jerry.kountz.3 Jerry Kountz

And if your not Rich, it’s law you have to have Insurance! For what you may now ask? So somebody somewhere “the VERY RICH” can have your money! They rule America, They rule the World and there is NOTHING you can do about it! What a wonderful world we live in, NOT! Come on Jesus, take care of these thugs now! Be ready people because he IS coming soon!

Anonymous

That’s why I don’t have Progressive Insurance and tell everyone I know not to buy it. Once I found out who owns it I knew it was crooked.Whenever I see their commercial on TV I change the channel.

http://profile.yahoo.com/HMA6XQN5Q6I3IMNOCI5TRF6SQM Matt

Insurance adjusters are merely thieves, sent out by their employers to protect the bottom line. 95% of them will do and say anything, to save the company money.

http://profile.yahoo.com/HAJ4XS6IPO3SQEA535LEZLBPCI brentw

This is a flat out untrue, but i don’t think you did it intentionally. i’ve known many adjusters personally when i was an adjuster myself. We worked in a regional office of a major company and none of the guys and women i worked with would “do and say anything”. The bottom line has to be protected or your insurance would be so ridiculously high it would unmentionably unaffordable. Of all the claimants that came through our office, at least 20% of them were fraudulent in at least some way. It is because of those people that adjusters have to be the way they are,otherwise insurance would be only available to the super rich, and those without it would get sued into oblivion.

Anonymous

Does anyone know whom the true owner of Progressive is? I was told it was George Soros

No matter whom owns Progressive, this is horrible and it shows in which way our court systems / judges have and are moving society and in favor of corporations of all types.

This is so sad and sick.

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_4HAW7OERGSC7VZM72V7IGDJ3B4 Sharmane

Very immoral of progressive. I would never, ever buy insurance from them anyway as their owner/founder supports leftist causes. I hope they go out of business.

Anonymous

ALLSTATE has done almost same thing as Progressive in this article….!!

The very name should be a clue, it is a left wing group and their “services” are cheap and so is their performance. After this if you buy this crapo, you deserve what little you get. Sounds like Socialist “in-security”, Obummer-scare pay thru the nose and get the shaft.

Anonymous

Are any of you surprised of this from a company that takes a socialistic approach to insurance? Look at their Snapshot device, it monitors your driving and sends real time data (via cell device located in the snapshot) directly back to the company. Brake to hard, accelerate or turn to fast and they will up your rates or drop you. Get into an accident and they will use the data against you. This company prides itself in getting out of paying!

Smart consumers will do their homework, find out the facts and drop Progressive, I sure did!

Anonymous

I am so glad I no longer sell for these jerks. My family knows first hand how ruthless this company can be – not to mention how rotten they treat their agents. They did everything from cheat on commissions to pressing charges for failing to forward payments received AFTER confiscating all the files – hoping there would be no way to prove otherwise. My family is known for documenting everything and has been able to fight the charges, but everytime one is dismissed a new charge appears. It really hurts to know all we did to help build that company, just to be dragged through the mud and financially desecrated now.

http://profile.yahoo.com/HAJ4XS6IPO3SQEA535LEZLBPCI brentw

Progressive has to defend this guy as if he were their insured. It’s contractual policy of every insurance carrier. If Nationwide was the underinsured guy’s insurance, then they also are contractually obligated to defend him. Once the claim then fell to the underinsured policy of the deceased girl, Progressive then became the insurance carrier for the guy who was underinsured and must therefore defend him because of the way the underinsured portion of the policy is written. Since insurance policies of all companies are under EXTREME regulation, this is the way that it is. i don’t know of ANY company that would have acted any differently. Progressive is forced to defend or they could be sued by the Nationwide guy for failing to act in good faith! In that instance, yes, the insurance company CAN be sued. Most, if not all, states do not allow a claimaint to sue an insurance company in this case. The insurance company was not involved in the accident–they are just the money man.

Therefore, the big stink here isn’t Progressive defending a guy they are contractually obligated to defend–it’s that they didn’t settle the claim. But there is another side of the story, there always is no matter how slam dunk it looks, and none of the articles i’ve seen even remotely address them, including the one above. Should Progressive have done so? Who really knows for sure? The only articles i’ve seen on this have given no extra information other than it was a red light accident. Was the guy drunk? Was he a reckless driver? Was there a witness? or was this a red light swearing match with no witnesses?–“No, I had the green light.” Was she killed instantly? Does she have dependents? Will her employer be damaged because he has lost her services for the next 3 or more decades? How about this one–did the driver of the car in which the deceased die have a poor driving record? All of these and a whole lot more go into factoring the cost of a claim.

i’ve seen nothing of the details of this claim except that fault was determined and the defending guy’s insurance (Nationwide?) paid the limits of the policy immediately.This indicates to me that they knew there was no point in wrestling this out due to the facts they knew and what they discovered in attempting to work this out with the family of the deceased.

However, once it went to another adjuster at another company (Progressive) it meets a new set of eyes and more information comes to light in that amount of time. There is no law that dictates an AUTO insurance company must pay the limits of the policy when a claim is given. IF, and this is a BIG IF, her limits were very high and the actual costs of the things mentioned above are rather low (keep in mind that somewhere in the neighborhood of at least $15k has already been paid), then the bottom line MAY be that the family wants a lot of money because they are mad. While this is very understandable, how do you measure mad? How much is “mad” worth? If insurance companies paid the max for “mad” claimants, do you have any idea how much you’d be paying for insurance? i’m not sure either, but it would be a whole lot more than it is. Insurance has to pay based on things that are objective (what are actual costs, future costs and inconveniences due to the injury/death) and not based on subjective things. It is the subjective things, like pain and suffering, loss of consortium, fear of driving/traveling, “pain” that is unverifiable, stuff like that.

Having written all this, it could very well be that the ones working the claim for Progressive are stingy bastards. But in all fairness, who really knows? Where’s the fair and balanced side of Progressive in all this? As a former insurance adjuster, i’m more inclined to believe that the family of the deceased is really mad and wants to deep fry the person who, we must assume, accidentally killed this girl. i’m pretty sure we’d know if he had been drinking, and no mention has been made of criminal intent. That means it was an accident, and they call them that for a reason. Remember that stuff about forgiveness, hope and restoration?

http://www.facebook.com/people/Gerry-Box/1099254441 Gerry Box

Since Progressive’s “face” to the general public is Flo, the almost homely girl, maybe they should fire her and put the salary they pay her towards some of these cases. Most insurance companies are heartless, but it seems Progressive is stone-cold heartless. I’ve never purchased Progressive insurance and never will. Thanks for the heads up on a lousy firm.

Anonymous

progressive is bad- formost is worse- a lady I know has paid priemins for 26 years newly widoed her house was blown off its piers in all the storms Texas has had this year guess what ? formost refused to pay

Anonymous

Leave it to a duplicitous charlatan Like Beck to try to politicize this tragedy. Really, did you expect anything less?

Anonymous

Look up biography of Peter B. Lewis, one time president and now chairman of the board of Progressive. He is a leftist and friend of George Soros and gives donations to leftist organizations. Glenn M. Renwick is also a friend of George Soros, as well as Warren Buffet. George Soros donates to scores of leftist organization and is behind Barack Obama”s rise in politics. George Soros’s idea of a terrorist is any American citizen with a gun. When I found all of this out I immediately changed my insurance company. Screw Progressive!

Daryl Sheffield

Dirt bags! I have had not desire to shop Progressive and absolutely will not now.

Anonymous

I had progressive insurance for one year and then I cancelled and switched. I was then sent a collection letter about a year later for nearly a thousand dollars. It took me a year but I eventually got all the charges removed without paying a dime to that corrupt company. Just like a liberal trying to take money that doesn’t belong to them!

http://www.facebook.com/patricia.havens Patricia Havens

I found out about Progressive insurance a while back when my husband was going to get motorcycle insurance from them as they were the least expensive for this he had found, but we decided that anyone who supports progressive(aka communist,Marxist, socialist ) politics is not someone we want to give any money to for any reason! So very sorry to hear about this families horrendous experience , but truly this is no surprise to me just another example of liberalism gone amuck! Liberals always talk a good game how they are for the little guy, the workers funny how very few of them are workers or ever have been……..

Anonymous

After finding out how truly reprehensible, vile and greedy “ProCrassive” is, all currently insured and future customers should drop them ASAP!!!, the owners and top exec’s should be flogged publicly!!!!!. My prayers to Katie’s family. As far as Moochelle( great name, how about Moochelle Antoinette?) am I the only one who remembers how much she hated America until somehow her undocumented and no American citizenship husband conned his way into the White House??? Suddenly, America is the greatest country on earth.( absolutely no thanks to barrack insane obama)

Anonymous

The FIRST and BEST reason to not buy insurance from Progressive is because of truth in advertising. The company supports pretty much EVERY Democrat “Progressive” policy out there! So if you don’t want your money going to progressive causes and want to be a good steward of your financial blessings look for companies that at least stay neutral in the culture war. http://www.kjv-truth-ministries.org God bless Mr. Fisher and his family!

Anonymous

I cancelled my insurabce with Progressive right after I ound out they were anti-Second Amendant.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=600398431 Gustavo Diaz

My condolences to the family for this tragic loss. This situation says more about the industry as a whole than it could ever say about Progressive in particular. All are obliged to conduct business within the rules, and it stands to reason that a corporation is going to do all that is legal to protect its assets. Just like in this case it was Progressive and Nationwide, in the tens of thousands of cases like this every year one could safely say that nearly every company in the market is at one point or another going to confront a similar circumstance. Progressive and Nationwide should not be broadbrush-vilified for this, although there may have been individuals who, acting on behalf of the named entities, may or may not have acted in good taste.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=600398431 Gustavo Diaz

“After finding out how truly reprehensible, vile and greedy “ProCrassive” is, all currently insured and future customers should drop them ASAP!!!, the owners and top exec’s should be flogged publicly!!!!!.” I know that must be somewhere in Milton Friedman’s writings. Can you point me to the publication?

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=600398431 Gustavo Diaz

Progressive is a fictitious entity, and the politics of the individual at its head today may not predominate. In the meantime they are an American company employing tens of thousands of hard-working Americans and independent (many times patriotic) agents.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=600398431 Gustavo Diaz

state farm agent.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1775150241 Bonnie Thomas Usrey

Yes, I worked for large Insurance Companies for years in Claims and Litigated Claims, and wondered why suddenly “Progressive Insurance” just seemed to appear and be all over the country with constant job openings for Claim Adjusters. I would not go near it, even when looking for a job because I know what “Progressive” implies, and that it is a Code word! I do like there Ads, but only because of FLO who I think is funny. But it isn’t funny when they take your money and then won’t pay legitimate claims. Buyers Beware!

Anonymous

Look, folks…..they’re dirtbags. Go to USAA if you are a vet, etc. I’ve been with them since 1976 and would NEVER change insurance companies.

http://twitter.com/brunettesrock01 Brittany Smith

I’ll be changing my insurance!

Anonymous

I truly sympathize with Mr. Fisher and not the Progressive way. The best way to describe our judicial system is that is “Devil’s Playground”. May the best liar or con man win. In Devil’s playground nothing is what it seems and facts do not matter. “Winning” is all that matters. The lawyers can lie, cheat submit false evidence, as in this case, and still win. The victim is just a trigger for this crap shot. There is a real need for reform of our system. I know you will not be happy to learn that what is happening here is being copied in most or the European countries.

Anonymous

What is it exactly that congress does? Things could not have gotten this bad unless members of congress allowed this to happen. How in the world does Maryland have a law that says that a policy holder can’t sue the insurance company? Second, I would think it would be a conflict of interest for Progressive to defend anyone but their policy holder. I just sent my congressman information on how my insurance company was increasing my deductible by not paying the full amount of the bill and only deducting the amount they would pay from my deductable. My congressman sent me a form letter about Obamacare. I swear, these folks do not work. Instead they spend all their time with special interest groups to see who will pay them the highest amount to pass a bill they need to increase profits.

Anonymous

Progressive has some very good, honest people working for the organization, but they rarely rise to any reasonable level within the corporate environment.

Ive been buying motorcycle insurance for years… Thanks to GBTV and the community for bringing this to light. Time to change companies.

http://www.facebook.com/PopEyeToo Bill Miller

George Soros is involved in Progressive, and he visits the w/h very frequently. By the way,
Soros lives in China. I try to avoid dealing with progressives and non Christians.

Anonymous

Thank you, Matt, in you and your family’s grief, for being able to work through this, and keeping us informed. Amazing how much must be spent on the advertisements that are aired! But, the advertisements MUST be more important than honoring their policy and policy holder!

Anonymous

Progressive (Flo) uses market saturation tactics to gain market share only to watch 40% walk out the door every year – they do not retain their policies as well as some of the more thoughtful companies who create stronger relationships with their clients. To spend a billion dollars on assinine marketing tactics is immoral in itself when those funds could be more reasonably put back into lowering the rates or paying up when a situation like this occurs.

Insurance companies will only pay what they are legally and legitimately obligated by contract to pay – they retain hoards of litigators (I hesitate to call them attorneys or lawyers) to shove a jackhammer into any cracks in the judicial system – in this case probably to avoid an Uninured Motorists Bodily Injury Claim of $100 – $300 k. A large figure to the family involved but literal “pennies” to these creeps – that’s my opinion anyway. This is how they balance their books and improve their claims handling expense – with a boot on the throat of their mostly uninformed clients. Sometimes a professional is needed and purchasing through a website or over the phone to a call center from a company with silly commercials is just a recipe for these sorts of problems – but, I do not blame this family – the whole industry has been dumbed down by companies like these…

http://www.facebook.com/robert.j.tourigny Robert John Tourigny

As per the huffington post today – they report the amount in question is $760,000.00

Anonymous

LIARS. Matt was just on GB radio and stated it was $75,000 i.e., seventy five thousand dollars. Why don’t you log into HuffPo and ask them to back up their inflated figure.

Anonymous

Read this article on SNOPES about Progressive’s owner, Peter Lewis. “Progressive Insurance Supports MoveOn.Org & ACLU. Gave Almost $30,000,000 to Soros’s Radical Causes. And this EVIL company was disputing settling a $75,000 insurance claim with Matt’s family. We all should be writing to FOX demanding that they drop the Progressive commercials.http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/peterlewis.asp

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1001635722 Dennis Price

I wonder if any of the companies who write insurance have the customer’s best interest at heart anymore. I have been with State Farm for 43 years and have watched the level of customer service decline over time. The old days where your agent was your buddy and took care of you when you had a claim are gone. Agents are not allowed to act in their full capacity anymore. State Farm has increased my premiums exponentially in the last few years and I called the Texas State Board of Insurance and asked if they had approved such large increases. They told me no. They said State Farm had millions in unpaid claims from recent storm losses and that rather than comply with the State Board of Insurance rulings they chose to litigate everything because they are so big and can afford unlimited litigation. In other words they are spending our premiums on lawyers to fight paying and complying with the State Board. I asked the Board representative what she would recommend, and she told me to find another carrier. However, when I searched around, I found that most of them are choosing to spend their money with lawyers and delay paying their obligations. They also lump most coastal areas in high risk categories without looking at areas that have fewer storms come ashore. We are at the mercy of these behemoths and their lawyers. The local agents and their staffs can only parrot the Company Line.

http://www.facebook.com/clubtek Todd Kenneth Otomo McKellips

Below is a copy of your recent message to Progressive:

Subject:Progressive Claims ServiceMessage:UNLESS
I HEAR OTHERWISE, I plan to close my progressive account this month.
It’s come to my attention progressives actions in the Kaitlyn Fisher’s
accident. This is a despicable act on the part of progressive! I would
like to see this resolved within the next couple days including how
Progressive donated a large amount due to loss of a family member &
apology from Progressive on this matter!

http://www.facebook.com/clubtek Todd Kenneth Otomo McKellips

I’m switching to geico!

http://www.facebook.com/steve.pollock.3701 Steve Pollock

I have an interesting take on this gentleman’s issue with Progressive. Mine is with the Florida Supreme Court but there is much in common. Can you advise an email address I can send about 500 words to you.
Many thanks

Anonymous

For almost any insurance company to claim that they are there for the insured person is a fictional statement. They exist to make money for their owners/shareholders. The only way they can do that is if they take in a lot more in premium payments than they pay out in claims. While Progressive may be one of the worst, there are plenty of other contenders for that title. Their legal departments exist to protect the company, not the customer. You should always check out the record of any company you do financial business with to make sure that they are not out to cheat you. Of course, Progressive is owned and operated by a Progressive liberal with all the stupidity that implies and that is another reason I would never do business with them.

Anonymous

Working for a major US insurance company – Has Matt’s Family’s attorneys filed a “Bad Faith Suit”. As you may know, this is where an insurance company is financially penalized (serious money) for not acting in a fiduciary manor where coverage is available, or has acted in a manor to deny coverage where coverage exists.

http://www.facebook.com/sed0007 Stefan Dobysz

I spent five years at Progressive. Excellent reviews, rapid advancement. The last year was in Claims. Compared to the training regimen and managerial support I received and enjoyed in Sales and in Corporate, the Claims division was truly the “Dark Side”. (Even the computer system we used in Subrogation was DOS !!) I was given no training, shown a seat, and found on my first day that I had over 2,000 ‘back-diaries”….meaning, there were 2,000 files I had to catch up on, spread over 14 states. They regularly insisted I file suits against the obviously uncollectible; fought lawsuits where our insureds actually engaged in gun-play with the adverse party; and put cases into the system which had no merit in the first place.

This company is a class leader in innovation and technology on the front-end; but pay for it by overloading their claims reps and grinding them into dust. I never was able to ‘catch-up” on the horrendous back load they dumped on me, and, at age 51, was “performance-managed” into termination just 30 days before my 401K was to fully vest. They fought the Unemployment claim, but a mere narration of the facts by me to the bureau resulted in my termination being ruled “not for cause”.

It was like working for an entirely different company. They make 80% of their “margin” , or profit/expense ratio, through this subrogation department, and that in itself is not a bad thing. At-fault parties should be made to pay back the insurer for the claims it has paid to it’s insureds.

This Fisher case, however goes beyond the pale of propriety, in that the other company already admitted fault.

Shame on you ‘Flo”. I would not be surprised if they try to negotiate down the balance they owe over the amount the other, underinsured company paid. They’re too busy spending money skip-tracing illegals who could never pay anyway.

Anonymous

All of the facts are not known here. Uninsured/Underinsured motorist coverage is not a life insurance policy. Maryland is a pure contributory negligence state which means the decedent would have been barred from any recovery if ANY negligence was found on her. It sounds like Progressive was arguing negligence, but the jury found in favor of the plaintiff. Because the at-fault party was underinsured, then it is proper for Progressive to step into his shoes (so to speak). That is why their name is listed on the docket. There are many statutory issues to consider, and I think it is wrong and unprofessional for a talk show host to be so biased and opinionated in the presentation of this material. Justice was delivered when the court rendered its verdict. I think this article and news story is very misleading.

Anonymous

Let one of your relatives get killed by a negligent driver, and let’s see you get screwed out of the policy payoff and then let’s see how “unbiased” you are. You must work for one of these insurance companies, I bet, or you’re a lawyer.

Anonymous

This seemstobe SOP for Progressive. My wife was injured in a motorcycle accident when a woman pulled out from a stop sign and hit her when she hadthe right-of-way. The bike was insured by progressive and so was the driver. The agent representing the driver called ant mis-represented him self as our agent, a felony, then stated that the driver’s policy expired at the end of the previous month. If this was true she would have 3 month of coverage before cancelation, or been jailed for no insurance in Indiana (she was not jailed). We have gone through 2 lawyers and have thousands of dollars of unpaid medical bills. This happened in Augest ’08 and we are still fightng for payment. My wife suffers from damage to her neck, crushed discs, and shoulder and wrist. She hardly sleeps and up til recently, had no way to get treatment or any medical help, at the time of the accident we were trying to rebuild our small farm and only had limited medicaid for our 6 children, 2 of whom have life threatening disabilities, jarco-levins syndrome. Thank God for ABATE in Indiana or we would have no chance of getting settlement. And Nationwide is worse yet…..

Anonymous

How timely! I was in the process of looking for a new insurance company for three homes, three cars and an umbrella policy. Progressive had already provided me a quote and was “aggressively” marketing me. I was able to shut up the “customer assistant” by saying that because of Progressive’s absolutely scummy actions in the Matt Fisher case I’d take my $7000 in annual business elsewhere. I never liked that Flo charachter anyway.

Anonymous

Thanks for the heads up. After reading this, I will never be a Progressive customer.